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Banks' technology budgets remained relatively flat after the 2008 financial crisis but started to rebound in 2011. Budgets are expected to increase in 2012 as financial institutions focus on complying with regulations and increasing efficiency. Eight major information-technology trends will drive spending this year.

Security threats at UBS, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and other financial firms have come from within their organizations. They were in a variety of forms, including rogue trading and theft of proprietary computer codes. This article offers some steps firms can take to protect themselves.

The Dodd-Frank Act required creation of the Office of Financial Research, which collects and analyzes bank data for the Financial Stability Oversight Council. However, the agency has missed deadlines, struggled to fill jobs and generally had a slow start. President Barack Obama nominated Richard Berner to lead the office, but it could take months for the Senate to act on the nomination.

Banks are likely to increase investment in risk management as they face an onslaught on new regulations. However, the pain of regulatory compliance might be eased somewhat because many of the new standards might help improve efficiency.